Preparing Your Fireplace System For Winter
Labor Day is over, and many people see this as the official last weekend of summer. Time to put the camper away, can fruits, freeze veggies, and clean the windows. It’s important to make sure your fireplace is ready for winter as well. This way you’ll be able to stay warm in front of a crackling fire, with no worries that something is not quite right. There are some important steps you can take to make sure that this happens.
Firewood
One of the important components of a fire is the wood you burn. There’s nothing quite so satisfying as knowing that you have a good store of cured firewood stacked and ready to go. If you’re lucky enough to have access to trees that need to be cut down, you’ll want to start this process early on. Why? In order to burn easily and cleanly, firewood needs to dry out for a period of at least six months. The wood you cut can easily have a 50% moisture content. So, if you want a fire that starts easily and burns without much smoke, you’ll want that moisture content to get down to at least 20%. If you didn’t get to this as early as you should have, you can buy dried firewood. Simply check your local home improvement store.
Inspect
You’ll also want to inspect some key components of your chimney system: the damper, the door’s gasket material, and, if it has one, the blower. Make sure that these systems are working properly and that the seals are tight. In addition, make sure that the blower is cleaned properly. If these parts aren’t working as they should, it will affect the quality of the fire!
Check
While you’re at it, check your smoke and fire detectors. Make sure the batteries are working! This is something that should be done on a monthly basis. However, sometimes during the busy times of summer, this can be overlooked. Start the fireplace season out right by making sure the batteries are working and change out any that need it.
Call in the Professionals
The most important thing that you can do to make sure that your fireplace is ready for winter? Call in the professionals! The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends that this takes place annually; and that you hire a CSIA certified professional to make sure that the job is done right. Your chimney inspector will be looking for creosote buildup, for obstructions, and for general areas of disrepair or wear and tear. Although some of these things might be obvious even to the untrained eye, you’ll want to call in someone who has experience and training. Just like the chimney sweeps at Chim Cheroo Chimney Service!